Local manufacturer Pratley continues to grow well despite weaker economic conditions last year, comments CEO Andrew Pratley. The company aims to launch at least two or three new products every year, and certainly 2025 will be no different. “We have world-class products unlike any others on the world market and continuously roll these out to new export markets.”

Pratley’s strategy to tap into such new opportunities is to identify suitable distributors in export markets with a similar business and ethical culture. “We focus on companies that are quality conscious, have technically sound sales teams, understand the local market and operating environment, and have a distribution network that fits our product range,” highlights Andrew.

Export growth continues to be a critical driver for Pratley’s overall expansion, with Africa offering significant opportunities across all its divisions. “Notably, we have made remarkable progress over the past year in having our electrical termination products specified for numerous large-scale projects across various countries, especially in Europe, Africa and the Middle East,” reveals Andrew. In addition, Pratley has dedicated sales teams focusing on the African market, working closely with distributors to maximise synergy and deliver exceptional results.

With regard to its adhesives division, Pratley made significant progress over the last year in perfecting the performance of many of its existing products. In most instances it has managed to optimise existing formulations while also taking performance and reliability to even higher levels.

“This is thanks to an extremely competent R&D department as well as newer production technologies that went online this year. Over recent years we have diversified our range of adhesive products significantly. In the past, we mainly focused on high-strength epoxy and acrylic based adhesives,” says Andrew.

In 2024, the company also took major strides towards energy sustainability, installing at least 600 kW of solar power with more to come. This has not only mitigated unnecessary production stoppages due to unreliable electricity supply issues but has also lowered the company’s carbon footprint.

“Pratley takes the stance that whatever we install or do, we need inhouse expertise to maintain and manage the system, so we are not completely reliant on external support. We achieve this by getting our internal personnel to get actively involved in each and every installation,” says Andrew.

Another exciting development has been to significantly upscale the capacity of the Cape Town and Durban branches in terms of building infrastructure. The extra capacity will come online within the first quarter of 2025. “This move also allows for significantly increased warehouse capacity in the Western Cape, especially in relation to our mineral products. It will ensure we have even larger quantities of product at the doorsteps of customers, especially for the wine filtration and farming sectors in this region,” highlights Andrew.

Pratley has also made a considerable investment in upgrading its training facilities over the last two years, as training and skills development remain a priority. “We offer in excess of 1 000 products, many of them for use in hazardous locations. These products must be selected correctly and installed by competent personnel or installers. This can only be done safely if personnel are well trained,” notes Andrew.

Pratley’s training facility provides this theoretical and practical product training, at no charge to customers. “We are passionate about safe electrical installations in hazardous locations where explosive atmospheres are present. Our training facility is world class.”

 “Training and education are the foundation for the future of South Africa. Strategically, we are also going to increase the number of training sessions we present in 2025, thanks to recent resourcing and upgrading of our world-class training facility,” says Andrew.

Looking ahead to 2025, Andrew remains optimistic about continued growth. “The further longer-term outlook for the economy is somewhat obscured due to all the moving parts of late, not only in South Africa but also what is playing out on the world stage.

“Certainly, there seems to be positive sentiment towards the Government of National Unity. However, it is still early days. Its stability and efficacy will be crucial. Interest rates and fuel prices have eased and brought some relief, which should put consumers and businesses on a better footing going into the New Year,” says Andrew.

However, he predicts that the success of 2025 will also be determined by how geopolitical tensions play out globally. “The new administration in the United States is going to be a key determinant of what happens next. As always, from a Pratley perspective, we will continue to do what we have always done and use our many strengths and capabilities to our advantage,” concludes Andrew.